Say Uncle
by marycasa13
Summary: Someone comes to pay a visit to Munch, and changes the 16 squadroom in ways never expected. will eventually be JO and EOC.
1. Chapter 1

1Say Uncle

Chapter one

A young woman walked into the 1-6 squad room, an air of confidence about her. She had shoulder length ,very straight brown hair that was matched by her warm chocolate brown eyes. Lifting her sunglasses off of the top of her head and putting them in her coat pocket, she walked up to the nearest desk, where Elliot Stabler was currently working diligently on his paperwork, which wasn't unusual.

"Excuse me, Detective?" She said to get his attention. Elliot looked up when he heard someone call him. Seeing the beautiful woman in front of him he briefly lost his professionalism and had to blink quickly to regain focus. The woman noticed this, and smirked.

Sighing, Elliot used his ounce of remaining dignity to ask in a firm, yet kind tone,

"Can I help you ma'am?" She bit the inside of her lip lightly to stop herself from giggling, 'wow, he went into that tough guy act pretty fast. It's kinda cute.' She thought, before responding,

"Oh, yes. I was looking for Detective Munch."

"Oh." Elliot couldn't help but sound surprised. The last time a beautiful young lady came in to see Munch, (' It's okay to subconsciously notice she's beautiful. Nothing wrong with that... right?') it was that news reporter who had been raped and later killed. He sighed silently, remembering that particular case from so long ago, and murmured a polite "Excuse me for a moment," Nodding in the woman's direction, he walked off down the halls to search for Munch Just as he turned the corner Olivia and Munch magically appeared out of one of the interrogation rooms, which he couldn't help but notice when greeting them at the doorway, (the room had no window to observe through,) was empty.

'Interesting...I'll ask Liv about it later. Back to business.'

"Hey guys," he nodded slightly in greeting, not wanting to make the woman, who ever she was, wait to long. "Munch, there's this...woman over by my desk. She came in asking for you." The last part came out as more of a question. If Munch was surprised by this, he didn't show it. It was probably a witness or rape victim who he had helped before anyway, right?

Munch walked over towards Elliot's desk and introduced himself like he would when serving a warrant or knocking on a witnesses door,

"Detective John Mu- he was, however, interrupted.

" I know who you are. But the question is, do you remember me? You know being senile and all..." The woman trailed off smiling when a look of recognition crossed across Munch's face. He quickly gave her a warm, friendly hug and started bombarding her with questions. Elliot, Olivia and Fin, whose attention was now caught, looked on with obvious interest.

"What are you doing here?! I wasn't expecting to see you. Is something wrong?" He asked very quickly. The woman laughed,

"I came here because I wanted to, I wanted to surprise you, and no NOTHING is wrong. Chill. I do have some news however..."

"What?" Asked Munch with an air of uncharacteristic impatience, " Spill it kid."

" I transferred from Staten Island Narc, and as of a couple weeks ago, I have been working in Manhattan Homicide..." She trailed off again and acted as if the next part was going to be no big deal. The slight squeak in her voice gave away her though excitement as she said, "An now I'm a detective!"

"Alright!" Munch hugged her again, and after a moment of watching the two celebrate, Elliot couldn't take in any more, "Um...what the heck is going on Munch and... I didn't catch your name the first time." He said.

The woman smiled in a way some might call flirtatious.

"That's because I didn't tell you my name, Detective."

Munch rolled his eyes behind her, shaking his head. 'Of all the people she chooses to flirt with...' His thought was cut off by none other than Elliot himself,

"Well would you mind telling us who you are then?" He asked, trying, and failing, to sound annoyed."

She smiled,

"Sure, allow me to introduce myself," She flipped her badge out momentarily, out of habit more than anything, before saying quite confidently, "Detective Julia Munch, I'm this doofus's niece."


	2. Chapter 2

1

Say Uncle

Chapter 2

"What?!"

"Huh?"

"C-come again?"

Munch and Julia watched with mild interest as the three detectives in front of them were reduced to sputtering fools. It was pretty amusing...well, at least to them. Olivia, Fin, and Elliot looked like they had just popped a few dozen brain cells from a mixture of shock and confusion. Elliot especially, for an obvious (or not so obvious?) reason.

When Elliot opened his mouth and then quickly closed it, looking quite like a nutcracker of sorts, Julia couldn't resist.

"Uncle John," she began semi-innocently, turning to Munch, " when you said you worked with a bunch of interesting people, I had no idea you meant_ interesting_ as in, you know..." She stage whispered, putting suggestive emphasis on the word, "_ special_."

"Hey!" Said Elliot indignantly. Olivia just laughed.

"She really is your niece, John." She joked, noting their similar humor and remarks, though Julia's wit seemed to actually be _more_ pronounced.( If her assumption made from the last 5 minutes was enough.) Suddenly her feeling of utter confusion was overpowered by a sense of mild anger and extreme annoyance.

"Munch?" She beckoned innocently enough, pulling him aside into a spare hall to have what everyone else presumed to be a short, innocent conversation. What else could it be? Nothing, right?

Wrong.

"John!" Olivia whispered fiercely once they were out of earshot, causing him to flinch slightly, a sight that would have been adorable to her at absolutely any other time. This time, however, she didn't even notice it.

" In the past three months you've told me about your favorite season, your favorite color, you told me what happened to your _father_ for god sakes, and you never once thought to mention that you have a niece?!"

"I didn't think it was a big deal!" He whispered just as fiercely, careful not to be overheard by nosy passerby, "I would have told you if you asked. Why does that make you _angry_?"

"I'm not angry about that! I'm just annoyed that you would keep something like that from me. We don't need the trouble of dealing with any more secrets these days. We've already been having quite a time of dealing with the biggest secret of all...our relationship." She had leaned in close as she whispered those last to words, the mix of her warm breath and loving tone in his ear making him shiver. Olivia smiled at his reaction to her, but never the less pulled away to finish scolding him like she would scold a child. Saying sternly, " Now you wouldn't want to ruin our relationship would you?"

"Of course not Liv." He assured, a sweet smile gracing his normally grim features.

"Good."

She pulled him even farther back into the shadows to give him a quick, yet passionate kiss. Moments later, they both wandered back to the group as if nothing had happened. Upon seeing Fin and Cragen's questioning gazes, Olivia looked at them as if to say " What?" and Munch supplied the ever reliable excuse of, "She just had to ask me about a case she missed a few notes on last week." The two nodded in understanding and walked off to finish whatever they had been doing earlier.

Looking across the room, Munch noticed Julia and Elliot blatantly flirted at his desk. They were smiling, laughing, and obviously having a good time. He looked over to his (secret) girlfriend in disbelief. His features, even with the glasses on, gave off a strong hint of dismay. Olivia shrugged in reply, coming over to pat him on the shoulder. " What can ya do, hon?" She consoled quietly enough so no one else could hear. Munch groaned,

" He hasn't shown any interest in women since splitting with his wife, and when he _finally_ does, he has to pick my Julia?"

Olivia snorted, " She's got to be at least 25 years old!"

"She's thirty." He quickly corrected. This time Olivia outright laughed.

"Exactly my point. When it comes to men, you don't have any grounds on her decisions anymore. She's a beautiful, grown woman and can care for her self."

" But _Elliot_?" Munch all but whined.

"Like I said, what can you do?"

They both walked across the room and sat at their desks, Munch shooting a carefully aimed death glare at Elliot. Elliot, however, was immersed in an animated conversation with Julia, and as a result, was completely oblivious to the world around him.

Munch rolled his eyes at the two, then brought his attention to his computer at the sound of an abrupt beep. He clicked on the message icon that had popped up. It read:

**Obenson: When are we going to tell them about us?**

He quickly typed back, scanning the room as he did so.

**Jmunch: Us?**

He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

**Obenson: Yes us, you moron. When are we going to tell the others about our relationship? I'm sick of hiding it!**

Thinking quickly and pushing all negative possibilities out of his head, He typed a quick message back, reassuring her with words as best as he could.

**Soon Liv, soon.**

They both looked up from their computers at the same time. Eyes connecting over the heads of the rest of the people in the room, they smiled at each other and came to a silent, determined agreement.

_Tomorrow._

Alright, that was the easy part. Now they had to address the question that was weighing heavily on both of their minds.

Munch blinked and brought his attention back to the screen as another shrill beep assaulted his ears.

**Obenson: How do you think the others will react?**

**Jmunch: I don't know. I'm pretty sure Elliot will go all "protective older brother" on my ass though. **

Munch looked up to see Olivia roll her eyes in that adorable way only she could pull off..

**Obenson: Honey, could you be serious for just one second?**

Munch chuckled silently. Olivia saw the brief smirk on his lips as he typed:

**I _am_ being serious.**

**Obenson: Okay. You have a gun then right? I'm sure you can protect yourself.**

**Jmunch: ...How comforting.**

"Do you two ever go home?!" A voice demanded. Munch and Olivia looked up and were surprised to see they were the only detectives left in the precinct, and that the voice that interrupted their peace belonged to a slightly tired looking Don Cragen.

"Sorry captain," Began Olivia.

" Yeah, Cap. It's not our fault we have no home lives." Supplied Munch in a false cheery tone.

The captain looked in no mood for any of Munch's games.

" Sure guys, just go home and get some sleep" He said, rubbing his eyes blearily.

Munch and Olivia nodded. Grabbing their coats from the rack at the doorway and bounding down the steps, they began walking in different directions until, when they were sure no one from the precinct was watching, they abruptly changed their paths and got into the same car. Once inside, Munch turned to Olivia.

"Where do you think Julia went?"

"She's probably with Elliot" Olivia teased. At Munch's deadly stare she surrendered.

"Alright, alright. She probably went back to her apartment or to your place if she hasn't gotten an apartment in the area yet. "

"Yeah." Agreed Munch. " Lets go to your place then, I don't want to risk running into her."

"Sure. With all your stuff lying around , you practically live there anyway." Said Olivia jokingly.

"Hey! Don't blame me! You're the one with all that extra closet space." Rolling her eyes at his antics, she gave her lover a quick peck on the cheek before starting the engine.

"Whatever you say, John. Now lets get going before I fall asleep at the wheel."

"...should I be scared?" Munch joked.

"No, now for god sakes will you buckle up?!"

"Yes dear."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

1Say Uncle

Chapter 3

"John, wake up."

"Hmmmpf."

"Wake up, unless you want to explain why we're both late." Stated Olivia, turning over sleepily and shaking Munch's shoulder.

"Alright, I'm getting up." He grumbled, sitting up in the bed at a sloth-like pace. His short, grey hair was tousled and stuck up at various angles, making him look much younger and, in Olivia's opinion, extremely cute.

"Alright sleepyhead, stay far away from the kitchen until I'm done , because I am not letting you touch my coffee maker again. I'd say you could spend the next ten minutes sleeping, but I think it may be a better idea to spend that time brushing your hair." She teased, running her fingers over his scalp, yet only seeming to make his hair worse. She laughed lightly and gave him a quick good morning kiss before rolling out of bed and pulling her work clothes on. Giving him on last, (perhaps admiring) glance, she headed to the kitchen and started the coffee. By the time the coffee was done Munch had come out of the bedroom with his glasses on, looking barely awake but also more well groomed. Grabbing his coffee and relaxing in a chair by the table, he greedily took the first few gulps. That, on his part, was a big mistake.

"Hot!" He yelped, nearly falling over in his chair as he set the coffee mug down with a resounding thunk. Olivia quickly grabbed him a cup of cold water to drink. As soon as he took the first relieving sip, she allowed a burst of laughter to escape her.

"Oh, that's nice." Grumbled Munch, " Make fun of your poor, severely burned boyfriend." He made a show of pouting helplessly.

"Your such a drama queen." Olivia laughed, moving her chair closer to him and setting her own mug down. Wrapping her arms around him she purred in his ear, " Poor baby, want me to kiss it and make it all better?"

Grinning devilishly, he responded by pulling Olivia even closer and kissing her deeply. She responded more forcefully in turn. Let's just say, that by the time they forced themselves to pull apart, more for lack of oxygen than anything else, all tongue injuries were effectively soothed and forgotten.

"Okay, no matter how much I would like to stay and do_ that_ all morning, it's time to go to work so we can reveal our deep, dark secret to our entire office." Stated Munch with just the slightest bit of sarcasm, though he said the first bit in total seriousness.

As they walked out the door into the cold winter weather, Olivia hit his arm playfully, groaning. " I totally forgot about that."

"I like, totally forgot about it too!" Said Munch with an overly exaggerated valley girl accent. Olivia snorted.

" John, if you ever do that again, I'll have to kill you."

"Noted."

"Okay, where the hell are Munch and Benson?" Cragen questioned with some irritation, the two detectives were only a few minutes late, but still, it was unlike them.

"Not sure cap, we all left before them." Supplied Elliot, leaning back in his chair and tapping his pen annoyingly on his desk.

Julia, who had decided to hang out at the 1-6 until she started her new position in Homicide the next week, spoke up quickly.

"Well, I was going to ask if I could stay at Uncle John's place until I unpacked all my stuff at my new apartment, but I left without remembering to ask. I figured he wouldn't mind so I crashed there anyway. He never came home so I thought he slept up in the crib."

"Well, If he's not here in the next twenty minutes I'm sending you guys out to look for him, same goes for Olivia."

Fin looked up just in time to see the two people in question arrive, "Speak of the devil" he muttered, as Munch and Olivia sat down at their respective desks, going over the files that contained their newest case and acting as if nothing ha happened.

Fin leaned over to his partner, " What happened Munch, girlfriend keep you up all night?"

" Hey! Wait, how did you know that- he stopped abruptly, realizing his mistake. Fin had been _joking_. 'Damn,' he thought, obviously trapped. Seeing Fin, Cragen, Julia, and Elliot's curious and surprised faces he cast a nervous glance towards Olivia.

Now would be the perfect time to explain, don't ya think?

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

1Say Uncle

Chapter 4

" Um, well...ya see..." Munch was floundering. No really, the motions he was making with his face resembled quite closely that of a flounder. He quickly dropped the confused and trapped puppy face and put on a guarded, extremely defensive one. With a grunt, he announced, "Forget I even said anything."

Olivia hid a laugh behind her hand, deciding to coax him on, and throw the others off in the process. "Munch, there's no way we're letting you off _that_ easy." She glared at him as if demanding answers.

_What is she doing_?!...Munch's brain quickly went into over drive, when he finally figured her plan (which only took a few seconds, really) he glared right back at her,

_oh, that little... she's enjoying this!!_

"Yeah, man. Who is she?" Demanded Fin, who then pleaded like a 14 year old girl dying for a hot piece of gossip. If not for his current situation, Munch would have laughed. "Come on man, I'm your partner. No secrets, remember?"

"Uncle John?" Julia asked in her own unique, adorable, and purposefully conniving way.

Munch shot another look at Olivia, as if asking, "Come on! Help me out here?" which, though she understood him perfectly, only made her laugh again. She had to swivel her chair around to hide her grin this time, for it would have probably extended past her hand. (Yeah, that's how munch she was enjoying this.)

Munch bit his lip, and after what only seemed like seconds, good ol' Fin decided to break that silence with a slightly suspicious,

"She is as _she_, right?"

This was the last straw for Olivia. Turning around, she quickly gauged Fin's seriousness, and then preceded to burst into a fit of laughter. The whole group turned there attention abruptly toward her. Even Elliot, who had been spending the last minute or so gazing longingly at Julia, was woken from his trance from his partner's sudden out burst.

" Liv, are we missing something here?" Demanded an extremely befuddled Elliot.

' He's cute when he's confused," Noted Julia quickly, before jumping to her not-quite-boyfriend's defense,

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure we would all like to figure it out soon and get back to work!"

"It's Casey isn't it?" Supplied Cragen, who, to be honest, no one even knew had entered the room.

"Um...no?" Said Munch, in a way that made it sound like more of a question.

" John, was that a question? That better not have been a question!" Demanded Olivia in her " demanding girlfriend" tone. The rest of the people in the room were surprised to see Munch flinch.

_Alright, that's it, if they don't get it in the next minute, I'm just gonna announce it and then run like hell, _he thought. Julia, however, stopped his line of thought when she broke out into huge grin. The rest of them noticed this and looked at her curiously.

"Care to share with the class?" Asked Cragen, getting impatient with the whole situation. This was a squad room, not some gossip-filled office with a water cooler in the corner!

Julia didn't answer the question directly, she did, however, supply them with more information.

"Uncle John, why don't _you_ tell the class. Though I'm sure _one of you_ already knows." When she said one of you, she quickly winked at Olivia. For a few moments she fiddled with her pen in the stupidity coated silence, before having enough. "And you guys call yourself detectives?!" They all looked guilty. " Uncle Johnny," She began with a sickeningly sweet voice that made the back of Munch's neck prickle with fear and worry, "If you don't tell them, I will. Because I know I'm right." She paused, and said just as sweetly, "Then I might just tell them some of your _other _secrets,"

"Which other secrets?" Asked Munch slowly.

" Oh, you know, about that_ habit_ you had in college, and the tattoo that-

Munch quickly cut his niece off. " Alright, alright!" He took a deep breath. " This person and I have been dating for three months, so before you get judgmental or angry or, overly protective..." He looked pointedly at Elliot, who grumbled loudly, " Just get on with it already, Munch."

"Yeah, whose the hot lady whose got yo' skinny behind in a fluster?" Asked Fin, slapping Munch on the back. Munch' cheeks tinged as he coughed awkwardly and muttered, " Liv."

" Repeat that?"Questioned Julia proudly, not quite hearing him but knowing exactly what he said.

"I said Olivia, Okay!?" He blurted out. He then covered his face in his hands in a mix of anxiety and exhaustion, leaning heavily on his desk.

Olivia took this moment as her cue, clearing her throat quite loudly, " You can, uh, stop staring at him now. And at me." She added sheepishly. Cragen merely raised his eyebrows, while Julia looked pleased. Fin, meanwhile, was quite patiently waiting for "April fools!" to be shouted out by somebody. Elliot looked thoroughly disgusted. Olivia rolled her eyes at all of them, then said to Elliot, "Oh, grow up!. I see the goo goo eyes you make at a certain detective in this room." She paused, pleased with herself, " In fact, don't she and John share the same last name?" Elliot's and Julia's ears burned. They shared a look, that, had Munch been back in the land of the living, would have probably caused him to shoot Elliot before he could even blink. Not that he would anytime soon. He was to...distracted.

Olivia, now genuinely worried about her boyfriend, got up from her chair and shook Munch gently on the shoulder. " You still in there?" She teased. No response. "John, John!" Throwing her hands up, she ignored the interested stares of Cragen and Fin and bent down next to him, whispering in his ear seductively, " Sweetheart, you don't want me to use my..._normal_ method of waking you up in front of the whole squad, now do you? Because I was thinking of saving that for later." Munch's head shot up. The other four didn't know what she had said to him, but they all came to the silent agreement that they didn't really care to find out. As a bunch of questions came firing towards him, Munch groaned.

"You've been dating my partner for three months!?"

"Way to go man!"

" She going to be my aunt anytime soon?"

"This better stay out of the office."

"Yes Elliot, jealous? And thanks Fin..I think. Don't rush it, Julia, I've had four other wives, and Cap, don't worry. You all through?" Munch said, answering all their questions using as few syllables as possible.

" One more question." Said Fin, turning towards Olivia. "How do we know your not helping him lie just to save his but?"

Olivia, who had just gotten off of a quick phone conversation, grinned evilly at Fin, then made sure everyone was watching before yanking Munch up by his tie and pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss that was only meant to last a few seconds, but ended up lasting a couple of minutes. When they pulled apart, she grinned..

"Any more questions?"

Silence.

"Good. Now come on John, I just picked up a case down in Hell's Kitchen." Munch and Olivia walked happily out of the room, grabbed their coats and left, leaving a small group of very shell-shocked police officers behind.

When they got in the squad car, Olivia turned to Munch. "You know I'm going to force that secret out of you when we get home tonight, right?" Munch nodded somewhat glumly. Olivia smiled.

"I'm also going to spend a _long_ time looking _everywhere_ for that tattoo"

Munch shifted slightly in his seat, grinning.

She always knew the perfect way to cheer him up.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Say Uncle

Chapter Five

It was much later that evening when Olivia finally got to fulfill her promise, well, the first part of it, anyway. She sat Munch down on her couch, (they had ended up at her place yet again,) and began interrogating him in a way that she would a suspect.

"What was Julia talking about back in the precinct when she threatened you?"

" Nothing..." He trailed off.

"John.." She scolded.

"Alright, well...nothing much." Munch clarified. Olivia scooted closer to him and poked his side playfully, saying in a much softer voice, " Come on, what could be so embarrassing that you won't even tell me?"

'_Oh boy,'_ he thought with slight dread. "It's not embarrassing...it's just sort of, incriminating."

Olivia didn't get angry, as he thought she would, she just got very...stern.

"Honey, what did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Who did you hurt?"

" What, no one!"

"Okay...then how old were you?"

"Um...between the ages of 17 and 19."

Olivia smirked.

"Oh I see, exactly how many times did you get high?"

" Three or four times..."

Olivia gave him a skeptical look, knowing that those few incidents wouldn't make him so afraid to talk about it. Munch hesitantly continued his statement with,

"...a week."

"With what?" She asked, no longer interrogating him. She was just curious.

"...marijuana."

Olivia laughed lightly. Hiding her amusement at Munch's awkwardness, she asked, " For how long?"

"I already told you, between the ages of 17 and 19." He asserted, only slightly annoyed.

"Two years?"

He nodded his head.

" And you never got caught?" It was a statement really.

"Of course not!" He defended.

This was all too much for Olivia. To Munch's confusion, she burst out laughing.

"You actually felt the need to hide this from everyone? What, do you think we'd turn you in?"

" Liv, why is that so damn funny?"

Olivia never got to answer that, because her phone rang.

" Hello?" She answered.

" Hi, Detective Bens- I mean Olivia." It was Munch's niece.

" Oh, hi Julia! What's up?"

Munch's ears perked up slightly.

" Well, I just got asked on a date tonight and..." She sounded nervous and excited at the same time, which prompted Olivia to interrupt her.

"It's Elliot, isn't it."

Her blush could practically be heard through the telephone.

"Ye-yes."

" Well, don't sound too happy about it." Olivia said teasingly.

" No, I'm happy! I'm ecstatic, actually, I just thought that I should...inform my uncle."

"Ah, well, I see how that could complicate things. Here, I'll hand the phone to him." Julia began to protest, but it was too late.

" Hello?" Said Munch.

" Hi Uncle John, I just thought you should know that I won't be home until late tonight because I have a date with Elliot. Bye." She hung up the phone, leaving a confused and helpless looking Munch, glaring aimlessly at the receiver, and a very amused Olivia. Moving over to where he was standing, Olivia grabbed Munch from behind in a backwards embrace, leaning forward and saying in a fake wistful voice, " I know, they grow up so fast, right?"

"Livvie, honey?"

"Hmm?" She hummed, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"Don't even start."

Olivia picked her head up slightly and laughed, "What?"

"Don't even go on about how cute it is or anything like that because then you'll lead me to believe they're cute and- Olivia leaned over his shoulder and pressed her lips abruptly against his, shutting him up. "Don't even start on one of your theories."

"It's not a theory!" He objected.

"Yes it is, it's your 'Julia and Elliot dating will ruin my life' theory."

Munch didn't object this time, instead he just turned his head and said , " Yeah, well I happen to think it's a pretty good theory."

Olivia smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Leave them be." She said as she removed him from her grasp.

"Okay, I will...for now."

Olivia rolled her eyes and guided him towards her bedroom, pulling him by his arm gently.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"To bed." She said simply, then in a sweet, seductive voice, "I still haven't had the chance to look for that tattoo of yours, and I plan to enjoy looking for it _very carefully_."

Munch smiled as they walked through Olivia's bedroom door.

As they fell onto the bed and pulled each other into a deep kiss, all thoughts of Julia and Elliot were forgotten.

( well, for a while, at least.)

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After hanging up her on her uncle, Julia had nothing better to do then sit around and fidget in a mixture of nervousness and excitement while she waited for Elliot to come pick her up.

After a few more minutes the doorbell finally rang, and she checked herself in the mirror one more time before going over to answer it. She wasn't dressed up, really, she just had a nice skirt on along with a comfortable blue blouse she had bought when out shopping the other day. As she opened the door to greet him she froze, Elliot was wearing black dress pants with a while dress shirt that had the top three buttons undone. Over his shirt was a light black sports coat. In her opinion, he looked gorgeous. She blushed when she noticed she had been staring for just a bit too long.

"Hi." She said.  
"Hey," he smiled warmly at her, " lets get going, shall we?"

"Yeah."

She grabbed her jacket from beside the door and walked down the front steps of her newly-unpacked apartment with him. They got into his car, ( she was surprised, yet pleased when he opened the door for her,) and drove off, engaging in simple small talk while taking small, secretive glances at each other. They got out fo the car and Elliot took Julia's arm in his in an uncharacteristic show of politeness, making her giggle. They stayed that way until they got inside the small and beautifully decorated building. They were seated at a small, secluded table in the corner, and found as they were waiting to make their orders, that the privacy made it much easier to talk.  
"So...how do you like being a detective so far?" Elliot asked.  
Julia laughed, " well, I've only worked as one for a day, but so far it's good. Really good, actually. I've been working so hard for this promotion, because I always wanted to be the one solving the puzzle"  
" Well, I'm happy for you. You seem to be the type that would make a real good detective"  
"Thanks."

Even after their food had arrived and they were busy eating, they still kept up with the light, casual conversation, surprised they could so easily connect with each other.

I never thought I could be this comfortable on a date with someone since my ex-wife. Mused Elliot pleasantly.

Who knew I would end up on a date with my uncle's co-worker? It may be awkward at first, but he's really nice. I hope we do this again. Julia thought with a smile as they finished dessert. Elliot payed the bill and they walked out of the restaurant in a comfortable silence until they got into the car. " Could we maybe... do this again sometime?" Asked Elliot.  
"I had a good time tonight, Elliot. So yeah, I'd love to." Julia responded with a flirty smile as he drove her back home. He walked her up to her apartment door and bid her goodnight, but not before leaning in for a tender, breathtaking first kiss.

TBC


End file.
